Lifting-jack



G. STODDEN.

LIFTING JACK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24, 1919.

Patented May 10, 19121.

INVENTOR WW ATTQRNEY GEORGE STODDEN,

LiF'rINe-JAcK.

PATENT OFFICE.

OF STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR 'IO AMERICAN CHAIN COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Patented May 10, 1921.

Application filed May 24, 1919. Serial No. 299,631.

T 0 all whom) it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonen S'roDDnN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Stratford, in the State of Connecticut, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Lifting-Jacks, of which the following is a specification taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which form part of the same.

This invention relates to the type of lifting jack in which power is communicated thereto through the medium of a chain and sprocket and thence to a movable head through the medium of reducing mecha' nism, and has for its object a construction which, as far as possible, Will prevent ingress into the reducing mechanism and its housing of foreign matter, consisting of dirt,

dust or otherwise, which under ordinary service conditions is accumulated by the chain and carried into the interior of the jack. A further object is to devise such a lifting jack as will, in additionto the foregoing characteristics, be capable of being easily disassembled, and access to the interior mechanism easily be had. A further object is the construction of such a lifting jack with the sprocket and consequently the line of strain located as near the vertical center line of the jack as possible, so that the tendency of the pull on the chain to dislocate the jack particularly when it is being operated without a load will be reduced to a minimum.

In the accompanying drawings showlng an illustrative embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section; Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the housing for the operative mechanism partly broken away, Fig. 3 is a view, partly in sec tion, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a view, partly in section, on the line l-4i of Fig. 1.

A frame is provided comprising a base 1, a support 2 forming a portion of the. reducing gear housing hereinafter described, and stationary sleeve 3, the bore 4 of which is preferably smooth to accommodate the extension sleeve 5. The extension sleeve 5 is interiorly threaded as shown at 6, so that it may be caused to reciprocate vertically in the bore of the stationary sleeve 3 when actuated by the rotation of the lifting screw 7, which is threaded to fit the interior thread 6 and is fixed against vertical movement as hereinafter further described. The extension sleeve 5 is fixed against rotation in the stationary bore 4: by spline 4* moving in a trated in Fig. 4. A nut 1' may be inserted in the stationary sleeve 3 to act as a stop for the extension sleeve in the upward movement of the latter as shown in Fig. 2.

The lifting screw 7 is supported on the base 1 and a thrust bearing is provided comprising a hardened steel anti-friction button 9, resting in a hardened steel cup 8. The bottom of the lifting screw rests on the antifriction button 9. The cup 8 may be secured against lateral movement by any convenient means, as, for example, by the annular projection 1O, which is of a proper diameter to closely fit the cup and may, if desired, be a part of the casting of the base 1.

The reducing mechanism comprises the beveled gear 11, fixed on the lifting screw against rotation relative thereto, by any convenient means, as, for example, by the pin 12; the beveled pinion 13, which meshes with the gear 11 and which in turn is fixedly united, as, for example, by being made integral therewith, with the gear 14; and thepinion 15, which meshes with gear 14:. The gear 11, and consequently thelifting screw 7 is fixed against vertical movement by the beveled pinion 13.

The pinion 15, which serves as member of the reducing gear preferably rotates on the same shaft 17 as the sprocket gear 16, and is actuated thereby.

The pinion and sprocket may be fixed against rotation relative to each other by any suitable means, as, for example, by being cast integral with each other. The pinion 18 and gear 1 1 may be arranged to rotate on an idler shaft 18, as likewise the pinion 15 and sprocket 16 on the idler shaft 17, as hereinbefore described. The actuating means for the sprocket may consist of a chain 19, preferably endless, which coopcrates with the sprocket, and which in turn may be operated by hand or other convenient source of power.

As the chain has a tendency to carry with it foreign matter, principally dust and dirt which it collects outside of the jack, and to throw the foreign matter off as it passes around the sprocket, and particularly as the reducing mechanism is located mainly below the sprocket, and such foreign matter would roove in the stationary sleeve 3, as is illusthe mien and a cover plate 24 providedwith a circular aperture 25 through which extends the pinion 15. The coverplate 24 may be removably attached by screws 2& and the aperture 25 is of proper diameter to surround the pinion as closely as possible, but nevertheless to permit it to rotate without interference. The sprocket is therefore entirely isolated from the remainder of the mechanism, and any foreign matter that may be dislodged from the chain or sprocket within the sprocket housing merely falls to the bottom of the housing, to be eventually carried out through the aperture 23 by the motion of the chain or by agitation caused by manipulation of the jack.

The housing for the reducing gear comprises the support 2, a portion of the interior cover plate 24 as shown, the lower section of the partition 21 as shown, and the cover plate 26. The partition 2i and the cover plate 24 each constitute, in addition to their function as a part of the sprocket housing, a portion of the reducing gear housing. The cover plate 26 may, if desired for the purpose of allowing ready access to the reducing gear, be made attachable by screws 27 and may also be provided with bearings as shown at 17 and 18 for supporting the shafts 17 and 18 respectively.

The extension sleeve 5 is preferably provided with a lifting head 5 which may, if

desired, be roughened or corrugated on the top for the purpose of making better contact with the load to be lifted. Further protection against the ingress of foreign matter into the interior of the mechanism through the sliding contact of the extension sleeve and the stationary sleeve may be prevented by the use of the screw cap 4:

This invention has been described in connection with an illustrative embodiment only, to the details of which the invention is not of course to be limited.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a lifting jack for automobiles, a base, a sleeve erected thereon, a vertically movable extension member adapted to slide in said sleeve, a nontraversing lifting screw cotiperating with aid extension member and provided'with a horizontally disposed gear located near the said base, reducing mechanism for said lifting screw adapted to ac tuate said gear, said reducing mechanism being mounted for rotation in a vertical plane, an actuating mechanism for said reducing mechanism consisting of a sprocket and chain, said sprocket being mounted to rotate in a vertical plane intermediate the said lifting screw and the said plane of rotation of saidreducing mechanism and adjoining said sleeve.

2. In a lifting jack for automobiles, a base, a vertically movable extension member, a lifting screw cooperating with said extension member whereby the latter may be caused to reciprocate vertically, a housing located adjacent the path of movement of said extension member, a sprocket mounted to rotate in said housing in a. plane parallel to said path of movement, a reducing mechanism mounted for rotation in a vertical plane adjoining the plane of rotation of said sprocket, a housing for said reducing mechanism, the plane of'rotation of said sprocket lying intermediate the axis of the said lifting screw and the plane of rotation of said reducing mechanism.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification. 7 a

GEORGE STODDEN. 

